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Democratic senator says there ‘needs to be space’ for Fetterman in party as Republicans come to his defense
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego defended beleaguered fellow Democrat John Fetterman Saturday, saying «there needs to be space» in the party for the Pennsylvania senator.
Fetterman, who won election to his seat in 2022 despite having a stroke on the campaign trail, has been under fire from Democrats, even former staffers who claim to have witnessed erratic behavior.
But Fetterman has also clashed with his party’s progressive wing on Israel and other issues, and his supporters say it is his independent streak that is prompting the whispers.
«There needs to be space for Fetterman and for other senators in our caucus,» Gallego said in an interview in Pennsylvania Saturday, Politico reported. «He still is a senator that fights for working-class people. We may not be 100% in agreement a lot of times in a lot of areas, but we don’t have to be.»
LEAKS TO MEDIA ABOUT FETTERMAN ARE A COORDINATED SMEAR CAMPAIGN, HILL COLLEAGUES SAYS
Gallego was referring to Fetterman’s stance on Israel, his suggestion that Democrats need to work with President Donald Trump, not against him, and occasionally voting for the president’s nominees when other Democrats won’t.
The senator, who spent more than a month in the neuropsychiatry unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2023 receiving treatment for depression, has also been the subject of several media stories recently that claim he has exhibited strange behavior that has concerned Democrats.
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego said Saturday «there needs to be space» for Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (Getty Inages)
«This is so blatantly coordinated,» media observer and Fox News contributor Joe Concha wrote on social media this week. He shared a link in his post to a Politico report claiming an internal Democratic poll found Fetterman’s popularity faltering in his part of the Keystone State.
The report claimed Fetterman had fallen below 50% in Democratic voter support in Pittsburgh, just a few miles west of Braddock, where he was previously mayor.
Fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican, called the reports «vicious, personal attacks.»
«He is authentic, decent, principled and a fighter,» McCormick said. «These disgraceful smears against him are not the John that I know and respect.»
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote, «The radical left is smearing him with dishonest, vicious attacks because he’s pro-Israel, and they only want reliable anti-Israel politicians.»
Sen. John Fetterman has been the subject of several media stories recently that claim he has exhibited erratic behavior, concerning Democrats. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
SENATOR SAYS DEMS ‘EAT THEIR OWN’ AS FETTERMAN FACES RENEWED SCRUTINY
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa posted to X, «The media ought to lay off Senator Fetterman.»
Gallego on Saturday warned that the GOP is defending Fetterman with the hope of bringing him further right.
«In the Marines, we call these f—-f— games,» Gallego said, according to Politico.
Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican, called the reports «vicious, personal attacks,» adding of Fetterman, «He is authentic, decent, principled and a fighter. These disgraceful smears against him are not the John that I know and respect.» (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
When asked by an audience member during the town hall why he did a fundraiser with a pro-Trump businessman, Gallego said the man runs «the largest venture capital firm in Arizona.»
«We got so pure that we started kicking people out of the tent. It ends up there aren’t enough people in the tent to win elections,» he added.
But Gallego also had harsh words for the Trump administration.
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«Be mad, stay mad and we fight,» he told Democrats during the town hall of how to deal with Trump’s presidency. «How do we fight? We fight them in the courts everywhere we can. We fight in the courts because we believe in the Constitution of the United States. You believe in it, and the country believes in it. … We believe in the United States.»
Pennsylvania,Senate,Politics,John Fetterman
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A U.S. appeals court struck down a law in New Jersey that prevented the federal government from contracting with private firms to operate immigration detention centers across the state.
The court’s 2-1 ruling marked a victory for President Donald Trump and his administration during their ongoing illegal immigration crackdown across the country.
One of the Trump administration’s efforts has been to expand a network of detention centers in preparation for the deportations of dangerous illegal aliens.
The court’s ruling also means CoreCivic Corp., a private prison firm, can continue to operate the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility, which is one of the centers ramping up deportations.
DEM REP TO PLEAD NOT GUILTY TO FEDERAL CHARGES FOR INCIDENT AT NEWARK ICE FACILITY
A federal appeals court overturned a New Jersey law that blocked private immigration detention centers, citing interference with federal immigration powers. (Kena Betancur/VIEWpress)
In the decision, U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, who was appointed to the post by Trump, wrote, «Just as states cannot regulate the federal government itself, they cannot regulate private parties in a way that severely undercuts a federal function.»
Bibas added that the law «interferes with the federal government’s core power to enforce immigration laws.»
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, signed a law in 2021 that barred CoreCivic from renewing its agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to continue operating the Elizabeth Detention Center.
DEM REP MCIVER EXPECTED TO MAKE FIRST COURT APPEARANCE AFTER NEWARK INCIDENT
CoreCivic ultimately sued the state, resulting in a district court judge siding with the private firm. The state then appealed the ruling to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court and received a decision counter to what it had hoped.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin expressed disappointment about the decision in a post on X on Tuesday.
DEM LAWMAKERS DEFEND ‘STORMING’ OF ICE FACILITY, SAY TRUMP ADMIN IS ‘LYING AT ALL LEVELS’
«As recent events at Delaney Hall underscore, entrusting detention to for-profit companies poses grave risks to health and safety, and as the dissenting judge noted, States retain broad latitude to protect the health and safety of people within their borders – particularly where, as here, there is no conflict with federal legislation,» Platkin wrote, in part.
Platkin added he is evaluating the next steps in the case.
CoreCivic’s Ryan Gustin told Fox News Digital that the company has «played a limited but important role» in the U.S. immigration center at the Elizabeth facility for more than 25 years.
«We appreciate that we’ve had the opportunity to present our positions to the courts and are grateful to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals for reaffirming the federal government’s discretion to rely on the Elizabeth Detention Center to support its vital mission,» Gustin said.
DEM CONGRESS MEMBERS STORM NEW JERSEY ICE PRISON TO CONDUCT ‘OVERSIGHT VISIT’: ‘PEOPLE DESERVE DIGNITY’
Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., has pleaded not guilty to allegedly obstructing Homeland Security agents during an altercation outside a Newark, New Jersey, immigration facility last month. (Fox News)
Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was hit with a federal indictment for allegedly obstructing Homeland Security agents during an incident outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark on May 9.
McIver and two other members of Congress said they were conducting a congressional oversight visit that coincided with an immigration protest when a clash ensued with federal agents.
According to the DOJ, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was allowed into the facility’s secured area and refused to follow federal agents’ warnings to leave.
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When officers tried to arrest him, McIver allegedly put her arms around the mayor and «slammed her forearm» into one officer while grabbing another and using both of her forearms to forcibly strike the second officer.
McIver has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Israeli police late Monday dismissed reports alleging that Jewish settlers set fire to the archaeological site of the Church of St. George in the village of Taybeh in the West Bank, calling them «factually incorrect,» lacking evidence and potentially misleading to the public.
According to police, a probe was launched last Thursday by a specialized team within the Judea and Samaria Central Investigations Unit (YAMAR) under the direction of the district commander. An internal committee was also tasked with reviewing the timeline of events recorded in police information systems, assessing the handling of reports and complaints, and evaluating the response.
«Findings gathered on the ground unequivocally show that no damage or harm was caused to the holy site itself,» police said.
DISPUTE OVER CHRISTIAN GROUPS’ VISAS TO ISRAEL RESOLVED AFTER HUCKABEE THREAT
An aerial view of Taybeh shows the remnants of a fire in a field located adjacent to the Church of St. George. (Courtesy: Israel Police)
The statement noted that a small fire had occurred in an open area near the site, but no buildings, crops or infrastructure were damaged.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee noted on X that Taybeh was «a beautiful village made up of mostly Arab Christians. Glad [the Israel Police] continue [to] search for truth [without] regard to assumptions.»
Huckabee pointedly added: «I have NOT attributed the cause of fire to any person or group as we don’t know for sure. The press has. I have said that regardless, it was [a] crime [and] deserves consequences.»
An exclusive investigation by The Press Service of Israel (TPS-IL) first raised questions over the fire, having uncovered evidence that local Jewish residents had participated in firefighting efforts near the church and raised significant doubts about the cause of the blaze.
TPS-IL also documented additional fires on July 7, 8 and 11 in nearby pastureland, located dozens of meters from the church compound. In each instance, a Jewish farmer with a property adjacent to the site filed complaints with police, claiming the areas where animals were grazing had been deliberately set ablaze.
Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee during a tour of the Church of St. George area, the site of a fire, during his visit to the West Bank town of Taybeh, east of Ramallah Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Last weekend, Huckabee visited Taybeh, where he called for accountability. «To commit an act of sacrilege by desecrating a place that is supposed to be a place of worship, it is an act of terror, and it is a crime,» he said in a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. «There should be consequences, and it should be harsh consequences because it is one of the last bastions of our civilization, the places where we worship.»
The visit came after the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of Jerusalem issued a statement claiming that «radical Israelis from nearby settlements intentionally set fire near the town’s cemetery and the Church of Saint George.»
A joint statement days earlier from the priests of the three churches in Taybeh – the Greek Orthodox Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church – blamed «Israeli settlers» for «deliberately ignit[ing] a fire near the town’s cemetery and the historic Church of Saint George (Al-Khadr), a fifth-century site considered one of the oldest religious landmarks in Palestine.»
A screenshot shows two Israeli shepherds trying to put out a fire near the Byzantine-period church in the Palestinian village of Taybeh on July 7, 2025. (TPS-IL)
HUCKABEE DEMANDS ISRAEL ‘AGGRESSIVELY INVESTIGATE’ MURDER OF PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN KILLED IN ‘TERRORIST ACT’
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III accused «radical Israelis from nearby settlements» of «a targeted attack.»
Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital that Israel must take a more assertive approach in handling incidents that could impact its international standing.
«We are in the middle of the most consequential war since the founding of the state, and events like this are just as dangerous,» he said.
He emphasized the importance of reinforcing Israel’s role in safeguarding Christian heritage and holy sites, particularly in contested areas.
«This includes exposing the PLO and Hamas’ ongoing war against Christian citizens, but it also requires transparency and assertiveness in showing our role as guardians of Christian sites and civilization in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem,» said Diker.
An aerial view showing St. George church on the West Bank. (TPS-IL)
He also pointed to what he described as a coordinated effort by the Palestinian leadership to undermine Israel’s legitimacy on the global stage, particularly through the media.
«We are in the midst of an international crusade by the Palestinian leadership to uproot our legitimacy,» he said. «The international media has become an ecosystem for the defamation and delegitimization of Israel. They are weaponizing every event into an existential assault.»
On Monday night, the Binyamin Regional Council, which administers Jewish communities in southern Samaria, confirmed the church incurred no damage.
«Here I am on the outskirts of the church. You can see the apse over here. And even on the outskirts or the outer walls, there are no signs of fire,» the council’s international spokeswoman, Eliana Passentin, said in a video.
«We are the guardians of the biblical heartland. This land was given to us by God – there is no reason for us to burn a church or to disrespect anyone else’s religion,» she added.
Speaking to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Passentin recalled bringing visitors to the local brewery in Taybeh, which was so well-regarded that a rabbi granted it kosher certification. She noted that Israelis and Christian Arabs had coexisted peacefully in the area for years, but expressed concern that the community now identifies itself with a Palestinian state that does not formally exist.
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«When I was walking around, one of the priests in Taybeh said he believed in the two-state solution and it felt as if the P.A. was putting a lot of pressure on the Christians,» Passentin said.
She suggested that the latest crisis was manufactured by those seeking to divide Jews and Christians, whom she described as joint guardians of Judea and Samaria.
«We are striving for peace,» she said. «This is the land of the Bible, and we should be building it together – not fighting or spreading false blood libels accusing Jews of burning down a church.»
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